A Mother's Lullaby
by nighttimerunner
Summary: "They stand wrapped in each other's arms in the dark hallway for a while longer, just listening to the quiet sounds of their children sleeping." Caskett family fluff.


**A/N: Caskett family fluff, because I felt like it and because Lou said so. I love your prompts, sweetie. ;)  
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**Katherine, thank you for the beta-work. You are amazing, my friend. :)**

**Disclaimer: Castle and Beckett are not mine, I'm just borrowing them.**

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><p><strong>A Mother's Lullaby<strong>

"Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!"

She bolts up in bed when the cries pierce the quiet of the night. Swinging her legs off the bed she hisses when her feet touch the cold hardwood floor. Just as she's about to stand up, she feels a hand at her waist.

"Kate?" her husband rasps sleepily.

"It's Lilly," she says softly, reaching back to card a hand through his tousled hair. "I've got it. Go back to sleep."

"M'kay. Bring her here if it's bad," he mumbles and his hand falls on the bed.

She smiles as she stands and picks up her robe from the chair on her way to the door. Sometimes she envies his ability to sleep anywhere, anytime. He'll probably be asleep before she's out of the bedroom.

She dons the robe as she hurries upstairs and steps into the first bedroom as the cries get louder. She makes her way to the bed and lifts their daughter into her arms. The girl immediately tucks her face against her mother's neck and Kate can feel the dampness from the tears on her skin.

"Shh, baby girl. Mommy's here. Mommy's here. Everything's alright," she soothes the crying child.

She continues to murmur comforting words to the three-year-old, swaying gently back and forth, until the cries lessen into whimpers. When they do, she sits down in the armchair in the corner of the room, still cradling Lilly against her chest.

"Did you have a bad dream, baby?" she asks the sniffling girl.

"Uh-huh," the toddler answers and nods against her neck.

"Do you remember what it was about?" Kate asks as she reaches for the box of tissues on the nearby table.

"Nuh-uh," Lilly answers, shaking her head. After her cheeks are dried and nose wiped, she returns her head back to Kate's shoulder.

"Well, whatever it was, you're safe here. Mommy and Daddy will make sure that nothing can hurt you or your brothers," Kate assures her.

Slowly the little girl in her arms quiets down and Kate begins to sing softly, trying to lull her back to sleep.

Not for the first time since becoming a mother, Kate finds herself wishing that she could keep her children safe from the world forever. But she knows that's impossible. Although, Castle's suggestion about locking their kids in the house is quite tempting right now. Not that she'd ever admit that to her husband. She'd like to keep the image of her being the sensible one intact, for as long as possible. Kate smiles to herself as she closes her eyes and continues to hum the song that always calmed her down as a child.

After a few minutes, she becomes aware of someone watching her. Apparently Castle wasn't able to fall back to sleep once she left, after all.

"Is she okay?" he asks as he steps into the room and crosses over to them. With one hand braced against the chair and the other covering hers on their daughter's back, Castle crouches down to brush his lips against Lilly's chestnut curls before giving Kate's lips a gentle kiss.

She answers his question with a nod once he retreats and opens her eyes to see his glint in amusement in the dim gleam of the nightlight.

"Were you singing _Take Me Out to the Ball Game_ to her? Isn't it a bit early to start corrupting her?" he asks with a teasing tone and she huffs in mock indignation.

"My dad told me that he and mom used to sing it to me when I had a nightmare. He said it worked like magic every time. And it seems Lilly has inherited my good taste in sports," she says, and they both turn to look at the slumbering toddler.

"Yes. So, her beauty is not the only thing she got from you," he says and although she rolls her eyes at the cheesy line, it makes her feel all warm and fuzzy inside that he still means it after all these years.

They enjoy the quiet moment together until there's a sound of a door opening down the hall and then soft footsteps approaching. They look at each other knowingly. _Noah_. Their eldest son is every bit as protective as his father and as light a sleeper as his mother. It was futile to hope that he would sleep through his little sister's cries.

Sure enough the nine-year-old boy appears in the doorway, eyes still half closed and his brown hair sticking out every which way.

"Is Lilly okay?" he whispers and then yawns widely.

"Yeah, hon. It was just a bad dream. She's asleep now," Kate answers and then turns her eyes to Castle in silent request.

He nods and drops one more kiss on Lilly's hair before getting up. Kate chuckles when he fails at stifling a groan and then puts on an innocent expression when he shoots her a look.

Instead of commenting, Castle turns to their son. "Okay, Buddy, off to bed with you," he says as he ushers Noah out of the room.

"Good night, hon. I love you," Kate says before they disappear from sight.

"Good night, Mommy. I love you too," he calls back from the hallway and she smiles wistfully. He's growing up entirely too fast and she cherishes these moments, these glimpses of the small boy who used to greet them at the door after work, eager to tell her about his adventures with Grams.

With a sigh, Kate rises from the chair and walks over to Lilly's bed. She lowers the sleeping girl in and tucks the blanket around her. She rests her hand on the toddler's tummy for a moment. "No matter how old you get, you'll always be my babies," she whispers before quietly making her way out of the room.

She hears Castle bid goodnight to Noah and then sees him exit the boys' room. She waits silently and, when he's standing in front of her, wraps her arms around his middle. She leans her head on his chest and sighs contentedly when his arms encircle her shoulders.

"Is Liam asleep?" she asks quietly and feels him nod. She expected nothing else. There could be a marching band performing in their room and Liam – their seven-year-old bookworm – wouldn't wake up.

They stand wrapped in each other's arms in the dark hallway for a while longer, just listening to the quiet sounds of their children sleeping.

Kate can feel the heavy weight of sleep as it settles over her and reluctantly she disentangles from Castle. The cool air of the house causes her to shiver and instantly she burrows back to his side, seeking his warmth.

He chuckles as he slings his right arm across her shoulders.

"Come on, Mommy Castle, let's get you to bed where it's nice and toasty," he says and she's too tired and too in love with their family to comment on the petname as they walk together back downstairs and to their bedroom.

She'll make him pay for it tomorrow.

**End.**


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